The Stranded Pilot

-The Next Day-

Maverick woke up with his leg over the end of his bed again. He had to put something there while he was here. He looked over at the junk spread around the room. It would only take a few final adjustments and it would be done. It was made of 2 parts, the first was almost done. He smiled at the crudity of it. The second part he was going to make later, because it was more complicated.

His watch said it was 5:47am. If he had been on the carrier, he would have woken up about now anyway. Knowing he would probably wake up Twilight and Spike if he went upstairs now, he grabbed an apple from the bucket and crunched into it, preparing to continue making his machine.

An hour and a half later, and it was done. He stepped back to admire his work. It was a crude treadmill, with a hard rubber belt around the rolling pins to make it move, the metal bars holding it in place. It had taken a while to set it up, but it was done. He stepped onto it, and walked forward, pushing against the wall to get it moving. Sure enough the belt rolled backwards over the rolling pins, gaining speed. Maverick laughed. It was working! Now if he could get the next part to work, he would have a means of generating electricity.

After a few minutes of jogging on the treadmill, he heard the door to the basement open. He looked over and lifted his hand in greeting.

"Hey Twilight. It's working." he said with a smile.

"What is 'it'?" she asked, rubbing her eyes as though she had just gotten up.

Maverick stepped off the treadmill and gestured for Twilight to come over. "It's a treadmill, a device we humans use for exercise, where you can run, but don#t go anywhere. Here, you try."

Twilight looked unsure, but stepped on anyway. She moved forward, and stared at her hooves in awe.

"This is neat, but how is this going to power your plane?"

"I'm getting to that. The other stuff is to make something called a 'generator'. Basically, it's a magnet that is turned by a rotary motion, and creates electricity when it moves past steel. I'm planning on hooking it up to the treadmill, so that while I exercise I can generate power. But, I still need to make the generator."

Twilight nodded and stepped of the treadmill. "Do you want some breakfast?"

Maverick shook his head. "No thanks Twilight. I want to work on this machine."

"You really want to get out of here, don't you?"

He nodded gravely. "They'll be wondering where I am. They'll think I've crashed and, when they don't find me, they'll think I'm dead."

Twilight looked thoughtful for a few moments. "The spell I was using - the one that backfired - was supposed to stop time around the clouds, to make them easier for Rainbow Dash to move. I think, if it affected you like that, it may have paused time in your world while you're here. I'll look it up."

Maverick thought this over. "So when I go back, it will be the exact same time as when I left?"

Twilight nodded, halfway up the stairs. "I think so."

"Well, if there's no rush to get out of here, I may as well leave the generator 'til later. So, could I have some toast?" he asked, grinning slyly.

"Sure." Twilight laughed.

As she left the room, Maverick looked around. If he was going to be staying here longer than he thought, he would have to keep himself in shape. The treadmill was a good start, but he needed some other equipment. He supposed one of the spare metal bars and some books could make a good set of weights, and one of the springs could be used as a cardio workout. He shook his head and laughed.

The way he was thinking this through, it was like he was planning to never leave.

After breakfast, he remembered that the cart was still outside the library, and he hadn't thanked Applejack for the apples. He decided he would take the cart to her and thank her at the same time. As he made his way down the lane between the orchards, he thought about what he was going to do. He needed to fix his plane, which would require fixing the engine, which he could do thanks to his study of it, but he also needed to repair the body, and while he had a way to power it, he had no idea how he was going to take off. He didn't even know if he would be able too, if the landing gear was intact.

He shook his head as he walked through the gate to the farm. He'd sort that out later. He needed help, and the Princess was the only one who could give him it. He would ask Twilight to arrange a meeting when he got back. He stopped in the yard in front of the red barn of Sweet Apple Acres, looking around. Sure enough, he heard somepony heading towards him from one of the fields of apple trees. He waited, and a minute later a large red pony, whom he presumed to be male, appeared pulling a cart of apples. With him was Applejack and Apple Bloom.

"Well howdy pardner, good to see you again." Applejack said when she saw him standing there.

He raised a hand in greeting. "Hi Applejack, hi Applebloom. And you?" he asked, gesturing to the other pony.

"Names Big Mac. Ma sisters here have been telling me all 'bout ya. Nice to meet ya." he shook Mavericks hand.

"I see ya brought the cart back." said Applejack.

Maverick nodded. "I wanted to thank you for the apples. If there's anything I can do for you, just ask."

"Well, now ya mention it." Applejack said, rubbing her chin "Big Mac and I have ta go into town ta meet somepony. Applebloom seems ta have taken a shine to ya, so could you look after her?"

"I'm right here sis. And can ya Mister Maverick?" Applebloom asked, staring at him with pleading eyes.

Maverick thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded. "I have an idea. Is it alright if I show Applebloom my plane?"

At the mention of this, Applebloom jumped in the air. "Can I sis?"

Applejack smiled and nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Applebloom grabbed Mavericks arm and started pulling him down the road, to the amusement of Big Mac and Applejack. "Let's get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo."

"Hold on, we need to stop at the library first. I need to get my flight jacket." he said.

After 5 minutes, they had arrived at the library. Maverick hurried down the stairs as Applebloom stood at the top, looking at the treadmill.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A treadmill," Maverick said, taking his sling off and testing his arm. It felt better, but was still painful to pick up anything heavy with it. "It's a device that lets you run without going anywhere. Look." He stepped on and walked for a few seconds.

"Neato!" Applebloom exclaimed.

Maverick put his flight jacket on and stood up, leaving the sling. He wouldn't need it.

"Come on, let's get your friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle." he walked out of the library with Applebloom in tow. They stopped at the Carousel Boutique and he knocked on the door.

"Coming!" he heard Rarity shout. She opened the door and smiled. "Nice to see you again Maverick."

He smiled "Good to see you too Rarity. I'm looking after Applebloom, and said I would show her my plane. I was wondering if Sweetie Belle wanted to come."

"I'd love to!" said Sweetie Belle, who was, for reasons unfathomable, behind him suddenly.

"Uh, um, what?" said Maverick, looking between Rarity who was giggling, and Sweetie Belle who was smiling behind him.

"That would be fine Maverick." Rarity said.

"Ok. Let's go." Maverick said.

He turned around, and saw that Scootaloo was there as well with a scooter and classic red wagon. Instead of trying to make sense of the situation, he merely set off towards where the plane was.

"Hey mister, wanna race?" asked Scootaloo, stopping alongside him, with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in the wagon.

Maverick smiled wryly. "Sure. Readysetgo!"

Maverick ran off, arms pumping. "Hey! That's cheating!" Scootaloo shouted, and set off after him, her wings sounding somewhat like a motorbike. After a few minutes, the trio caught up with him, and as Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at him they overtook him. He stopped, and watched as they kept going for a few seconds before stopping as well. Scootaloo turned around.

"Where do we go?"

Maverick smiled "Guess you'll have to follow me."

Scootaloo scowled at him while Sweetie Belle and Applebloom laughed.

-Half an Hour Later-

As Maverick and the trio of small ponies approached the clearing by a barely beaten path, 2 Royal Guards blocked their way with their wings.

"It's ok, my names Maverick. I'm the pilot who crashed here."

"One moment." one of the guards spoke gruffly. He walked over to where the plane wreck was and stepped into a tent, barely visible through the trees. A moment later, he stepped back out with another Royal Guard, a white pegasus who was marked out from the rest by his bright blue armour. His helmet held a red star on it, and he was clearly the pony in charge.

"I am Captain Barehoof. What is your name?"

"Maverick."

The captain nodded to the other Royal Guard, and he dropped his wing, letting the group pass through into the clearing. "I'm stationed here to guard your ship and lend assistance. Is there any way I can help?"

Maverick nodded. "Can you ask the guards to stand back?"

The Captain nodded and shouted out the orders.

The trio of small ponies gasped at the wreck of the plane. Maverick looked around. The clearing was the same as when he had left it, except for the Royal Guard tent that had been set up 20 meters from the wreck. He shielded his eyes and looked up to see a Royal Guard fly over-head. He smiled, feeling familiar with the militaristic atmosphere. He stepped up to the wreck.

"That's yer plane mister?" asked Applebloom, looking it over.

"Mm-hm." he ran his hand over the fuselage. Now he wasn't bleeding and concussed, he could look over the plane properly.

"How does it work?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Maverick pointed to the 2 vents on the underside of the fuselage. "Air goes in here," he pointed at the main body "the engines heat it up, and shoot it super-fast and super-hot out the back." he pointed at the lifeless thrusters.

"Cooooooool!" they said. Maverick climbed onto the small wing attached to the cockpit, and hauled himself up.

"What are doing now?" Scootaloo asked, her head tilted slightly.

"I'm going to run a systems diagnostic and see how badly damaged it is." He looked back at their blank faces as he kneeled on the edge of the canopy. "I'm going to see how badly broke it is."

"Ooooooh." they said. "Why didn't you just say that?"

"I did." He grabbed each side of the cockpit and lowered himself into the seat, avoiding the broken glass. Once he was settled, he looked at the 3 small ponies.

"You may want to stand back." They nodded and ran to the Royal Guards tent. He flipped the power master switch when they were clear, and he heard the familiar whirring of electricity flowing through the stricken jet. He quickly made sure the engines were shut down, and began the systems check. Sure enough, the right engine was crippled, and the right wing flaps would be useless without heavy repair. It was going to take time to fix just these 2 problems, but he would have to straighten out the bodywork as well, or it wouldn't be streamlined. He sighed and pushed himself out of the cockpit, not putting too much pressure on his bad arm, and slide down the side.

He walked over to the 3 small ponies. "We should go. There's nothing I can do without tools."

They nodded, and prepared to depart. Maverick walked over to the tent and pushed the flap aside, ducking down as usual. He spoke up.

"Captain Barehoof?" a moment later the Captain appeared. "If I ask Celestia for help, like workers, tools, materials, how long will it take to arrive?"

The Captain pondered this for a few seconds. "A week or so to gather them, another 2 days to arrive here."

Maverick nodded. "Thank you." He started making his way back to the Boutique to drop off Sweetie Belle.

As he entered town, he remembered what Sweetie Belle had said yesterday and chuckled.

"What's funny mister?" asked Applebloom.

"Just remembering what Sweetie Belle here said yesterday."

The trio giggled, remembering Rarity's face. "That was funny." Sweetie Belle said.

"He we are." he stopped outside the Boutique. Sweetie Belle thanked him for taking her to see the plane. She stepped inside and they continued on. Maverick stopped, and after a seconds hesitation turned to the library.

"Where are we going?" asked Scootaloo.

"I need to drop my flight jacket off. It's getting uncomfortable."

When they arrived, he stepped inside and once again hurried down the stairs to put his flight jacket in the wardrobe. As he turned around he found the 2 small ponies looking at the treadmill, not even surprised about their ability to sneak in behind him.

"What does this do?" asked Scootaloo.

"Looky here, it lets ya run without going anywhere." Applebloom said and stepped on to the treadmill and started trotting.

"Cool, let me try!" Scootaloo barged Applebloom out the way and jumped on, running faster than she had.

"Calm down you two, that took a while to make, and I need it." Maverick sad.

"Sorry mister." said Applebloom.

"It's ok. Come on, your brother and sister will be wondering where you are. And Scootaloo, you better get going too." he said.

"Ok. See ya later Applebloom." She walked up the stairs and out of the library. As he and Applebloom followed her, they heard the familiar sound of her wings and heard her go.

10 minutes later, Maverick stepped on to Sweet Apple Acres and greeted Big Mac, who thanked him for looking after Applebloom.

"Please, it was no trouble. I'm happy to help for all the hospitality you've shown to me."

He said goodbye to Applebloom and began walking back to the library. He smiled and shook his head as he thought back over the day. He was now communicating with the ponies as though he wasn't a different species at all.

When he reached the library, he saw Twilight reading a book and greeted her.

"Hi Twilight."

"Oh, hi Maverick. I see you've been foal-sitting for Applejack." she smiled, and levitated a notebook and quill in front of her. "Do you mind if I ask you about your race now?"

Maverick looked at his watch and nodded. It was now 12:06.

"Sure. Where do you want to begin?"